Guardian in the Mountains
by TKeiraLea
Summary: A vignette series that chronicles Leia's life on Alderaan, focusing on the relationship with her personal protector.
1. Unbroken Bonds

**Unbroken Bonds**

"Wuickly!"

At the sound of Leia's high-pitched command, Bail lifted his gaze from the ever-shifting datascreens filled with mindless Senate drivel. For over an hour he had been sitting in the shade of the palace veranda, attempting to work quietly so he wouldn't distract his daughter. He spared a few seconds to track the progress of her latest endeavor – to train her new pet. The sight of the diminutive child trying to wrestle a wuicka twice her size into submission was silly enough to curl the corner of his mouth.

"Wuickly, come," Leia said, popping her fists onto her hips. Her lower lip firmly stuck out, the five-year-old looked every inch of serious as she scrutinized her predicament.

Bail could practically see the possibilities run their course behind her dark eyes. Infinite options all simply to cajole the enormous furry canine into doing her will. A cant of the head. A tilt of the hip. An arch of the brow. She had considered it all. Newly determined, Leia marched around to the wuicka's backside, bent over – and began to push.

"She is quite a fighter, that one, sir."

Bail turned to find his chief of staff standing just over his shoulder. All joy in the moment fled Bail's heart; he had told D'Ajou to not bother him today, save an emergency. Today was to be a day of quiet reflection – some rare time alone with Leia. A moment of peace among the chaos that had become his life in the Imperial Senate.

In the Empire, time and peace were fleeting, as elusive as a shoikler one tried to catch in the hand. An endless stream of disturbances to be quieted, incidents to be handled, emergencies to be addressed. What emergency, Bail wondered, would steal another set of precious minutes from his daughter? Had she not sacrificed enough in the name of Imperial "peace"?

As Bail pondered the many circumstances that might have erupted into the moment's drama, D'Ajou maintained a serene, almost jubilant, expression. Oddly, he exhibited none of the usual signs of impending doom that so often shrouded his countenance. D'Ajou had been Bail's chief of staff since the Clone Wars, and he was a man to be trusted. So perhaps this time it was important, but not bad.

Bail inhaled. "What is it, D'Ajou?"

The white-haired man bowed his head curtly. "I apologize, sir, for the interruption. There is a young lady here to speak with you."

D'Ajou had one soft spot – the plight of the struggling outland cities, whose citizens had been resisting the policies of their sector's Imperial governor, and suffering for it. There was always a pleading insurgent or hungry mother… "If it is another of the FEA representatives, she will have to –"

"No, sir. This is not about _that_." D'Ajou glanced over his shoulder, then back. "This young lady is a _maiden_ from the high country. She is in need of a helping _hand_. Her plight is one the Emperor has brought on so many of those _closest_ to him."

His aide's cues froze Bail's blood. What had been done to Padmé's homeworld was something no one spoke of. The fear of such atrocities befalling another planet kept all others in line. No other system wished to become another example of Imperial might like poor Naboo. Bail had pledged on Leia's life that he would do whatever it took to ensure Alderaan remained a haven for his daughter to grow up happy and secure. Casting one quick glance back to be sure she was completely immersed in her wuicka's training, he snatched D'Ajou by the tunic.

"What possible tragedy have you let into this house?" Bail hissed under his breath. "How dare you risk Alderaan's peace?"

D'Ajou swallowed. "This one risk…uh…she is most skilled in covering her steps. I only ask that you give the lady a minute of your time, judge for yourself."

Bail trusted this man standing bravely before him. He had trusted him with his life and many of his secrets. D'Ajou glanced quickly at little Leia, who now tugged on the wuicka's lead to no avail. Leia. Naboo. Secrets. They were all interconnected.

If she was who she claimed, this young woman was risking just as many secrets, and her life, to see him.

"Very well. A minute, no more."

"Thank you, sir," D'Ajou whispered before whisking from the room. He returned not more than a few seconds later. Checking the veranda left and right, he finally gestured to someone inside. "You are safe."

The cloaked frame of a woman emerged from the shadows, but refused to leave them completely. Bail crossed the few steps to the arched opening and met her there.

The woman was hidden beneath the cowl of a deep blue cloak. The luxurious, detailed material enfolded and enveloped her, making her into nothing more than the shadow she stood within. Instantly, Bail recognized the abilities of one trained to walk hidden even in the light.

The covered head bowed. "Thank you, kind sir, for your hospitality."

Bail stiffened, crossing his arms. "You have a minute. I would suggest you get to your point."

"Yes." Lithe fingers grasped either side of the hood and gracefully pulled it back. "I suppose I –"

"By the grace of Alderaan! Sa –"

"Sabyne," she interjected, then dipped her head respectfully in time with a practiced curtsie. "Sabyne Leperrie."

Bail paused, stunned. Realizing his mouth was agape, he snapped it shut.

He couldn't manage words. Not yet. He had thought them all dead. Every last one, when Naboo had fallen. Yet here stood one of the last links of Padmé Naberrie to the heroic legacy of a rebellion born one terrifying day on Coruscant. On the day the Empire had become a reality, Padmé alone had foreseen the horrible crush of Palpatine's rule upon those who would stand against him. She had instructed him to be a good little Senator, and then set the seeds of revolution into the wind, charging a few loyal friends with spreading this new hope far and wide.

"Papa?"

A tug at his sleeve brought Bail to his senses. He forced himself to stop staring at this woman – Padmé's virtual double – and look down at his daughter. "Yes, my little princess?"

_Smile_, he reminded himself. And so he did, because Leia missed nothing.

"Wuickly won't come."

As Bail glanced across the veranda, his eyes paused on the endless vista of snow-capped mountains. How easy would it be to just run away into their depths? Run. Hide. Live a simple life of solitude, leaving the galaxy to suffer its fate.

"Father." The impertinent version this time.

Bail's gaze located the mutinous canine sprawled across the cool stone floor, tongue lolling, his well fed belly turned up to the sky. Bail stroked his beard in all seriousness, even as he envied the wuicka's carefree abandon.

Glancing back down at his daughter, he said, "Have you tried everything you can think of?"

Leia nodded vigorously.

"And then a few more?"

She squinted for an instant. "Of course."

"A wise woman pointed out to me that sometimes the most successful course is the least obvious." Bail kneeled down, taking Leia by the shoulders. "I believe you can convince Wuickly to see things your way."

He patted her plaited hair tenderly. "Go give Wuickly something to think about, hmm?"

"Okay." Leia started toward the veranda, then hesitated. "Shouldn't I say hello to the lady first?"

Bail shot a passing glance at Sabé – Sabyne – who appeared completely captivated by Leia. "Yes, I suppose that would be the proper thing to do. Leia, this is Sabyne, a friend. Sabyne, may I present Princess Leia Ysbell Organa of Alderaan."

As Bail stood, Leia executed a perfect curtsy. "It is an honor to meet you."

Sabyne curtsied in return. "The honor is all mine, milady."

Leia regarded their guest. "Did you know my mother?"

Sabyne offered a trained smile. "Every good citizen would, milady." A studied and perfectly worded answer. Handmaiden training, it seemed, was not easily lost.

"But you are not a citizen," Leia countered.

"Child," Bail snapped.

She twisted her gaze back to her father. "She looks like me and –"

"Leia Ysbell," Bail said, hand flying up to point back at the veranda, "tend to your wuicka."

The lower lip came out, and for half a second Bail thought his daughter would cry. But she was royalty through and through. With her head hung low, Leia did as she had been bade. Only the slightest shuffle of her feet was any indication of her opinion on the matter. Bail watched Leia until she dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around her contented pet.

"She is perceptive," Sabyne noted. _Like her mother_ was left unsaid.

"And too smart for her own good, I fear," Bail added. "When she was three, Leia had already begun to notice the difference in her skin complexion from Brehu and me."

"It was a natural progression from there, I suppose."

"Yes," Bail said. "We have tried to instill in Leia the importance of not discussing her heritage openly, but she is a –"

"Stubborn child."

Bail couldn't help the slight grin. Sabé, of course, would know better than most. "That she is."

"I would like to help Leia," Sabyne said in a whoosh of breath.

The grin was gone. "I do not think that is wise."

She was Naboo. Not only that, from Padmé's personal staff. The risks were enormous. Beyond enormous. Incalculable.

"I understand." There was no disappointment in her eyes. Only resolve. "May I say goodbye before I take my leave, then?"

It was the least he could do. "Of course."

"Thank you, Senator."

Sabé stepped into the afternoon light and drifted the short distance to Leia. Guilt and any number of similar emotions washed over Bail as he watched the woman who had sworn to protect Padmé bend down to address his lost friend's child. He wouldn't – he couldn't – endanger the stability of Alderaan for any person. Sabé was a resourceful woman; she would find a place among the stars. She would fight the good fight, just not here and now.

Leia appeared riveted on the handmaiden's words. The exchange was brief, but there was some import to the moment. Like history passing hands. Bail wondered what little piece of Padmé Sabé had chosen to leave behind. Then it was done, and Sabyne glided his way.

"Thank you again, Senator." She glanced back for one final look at Leia. "Take good care of her."

"I will." He inhaled sharply. "Where will you go from here?"

"My duty is still to Padmé, to her legacy," Sabé answered while drawing up her hood once more. In one act she became the nameless face that would forever fight the claws of oppression.

"May the Force be with you, then."

"I would rather it not," she whispered. With a tip of the head, she was gone.

Bail gazed off into the mountains again. As he had become accustomed to lately, he shoved the unease from his mind, back to a hidden corner for another time. There were many things he did these days that were counter to his nature, but they were necessary.

"Papa! Papa!"

The simple sound of unadulterated joy lifted Bail's heart, and he wondered what could make his daughter so happy. To say he was astonished when he looked to her would have been an understatement. He watched, speechless, as Leia paraded around the veranda with the lumbering wuicka in tow.

Leia beamed over in mid-step. "I did it."

A second later, Leia tackled Wuickly. "Good boy!"

Suddenly, Bail found himself running. He ran into the palace, out of their private suites, and started down the hall to the staff offices. He didn't have to go more than a few more steps before spotting her.

"Sabé-yne." He sprinted up to the handmaiden and took her by the arm. He asked everything and only one thing of her. "Please. Stay."


	2. A Mother's Gift

**Leia - Age 6**

**A Mother's Gift**

"Just a little more, Sabie!"

Instead of responding to her charge's call, Sabé kept her eyes down for a moment and pretended to study her intended footfalls among the craggy terrain. Sometimes it hurt too much to hear Leia use the same nickname her mother had bestowed on Sabé years ago during handmaiden training. Deep down she knew it to be a cruel coincidence, but there were times she felt as if Leia were Padmé come to life all over again. She took a measured step over a large rock, inhaled sharply and lifted her head. All Leia would notice was a smiling face.

Later, after this special day, Sabé would remind the little girl that princesses didn't use nicknames. It was to be Sabyne or mistress, nothing else. Sabie was too close to Sabé, in more ways than one. It was a name, simply put, that was too dangerous.

"I'm coming," Sabé huffed. For an afternoon excursion, this was turning into quite a climb. Leia had led her over rugged paths and through winding forest trails in some ridiculous pursuit. Even with her specialized training, Sabé was having a hard time staying oriented toward home. And that was starting to worry her. "Leia, it's getting close to the time we should turn around."

"-most there," Leia said, never looking back as she scampered up a large boulder with Wuickly at her side.

"We better be, missy," Sabé grumbled to herself. Today was definitely not the day to deliver her ward home later than expected. The ramifications…

Wiping that thought from her mind, she scurried up the same boulder Leia and the wuicka had just topped. The little girl was waiting there. Sabé's gaze met Leia's, then followed the brown eyes as they shifted across the wild Alderaanian landscape.

Abruptly the breath left Sabé's lungs and all thought ended in a haze of memories. She was transported back to a spot that now only existed in her dreams. 

The boulder upon which they stood wasn't merely a boulder but the lip defining the edge of a vast meadow. Sabé's eyes followed Wuickly as he bounded across a plain of grass. The green sea stretched out endlessly, waving in a gentle breeze. Occasionally a cluster of flowers would peek through, pockets of yellow and white enjoying a rolling dance, or Wuickly would leap into the air in pursuit of a Ployi moth. Beyond all that, far enough away to seem impossible but close enough she could just make out the distant rumble, a wall of falling water provided the scenery its perfect backdrop.

It was…Naboo. Home. A happier time and place. Memories swam before her eyes as her vision blurred.

"Finista Valley," Sabe whispered breathlessly.

A tiny hand clasped hers. "What did you say?"

Sabé inhaled with a start. Padmé. She could feel her lost friend here, in this place. Her breath was in the breeze, her laugh in the whisper of the bobbing flowers. Even her determined spirit thundered over the falls.

They were a fitting tribute to a woman who had given everything to the galaxy and expected nothing in return. It was an appropriate reminder to Sabé of her duty, to her countrymen and an old friend. Reliving a lost youth would gain them all nothing. Her shoulders drew tall; her eyes blinked away the threat of tears. "Nothing. I said nothing of import." 

Leia yanked on her protector's hand. "It sounded like _Finest Valley_ to me."

The former handmaiden bit back a gasp. Instead she simply smiled politely, bending down to Leia's eye level. "What did you say?"

The child blinked and drew in an exasperated breath. "I said, it sounded to me like you said, _Finest Valley_. How did you know what I had named this place?"

Not even years of practiced indifference could dispel the shock that washed through Sabé. Somehow she managed to sit on the hardened ground before gravity overcame her trembling limbs.

"Sabyne, are you all right?" 

She swallowed, then swallowed again. She could do this. While posing as Queen Amidala during the blockade she had endured worse. _Spare the passion for the people_, she heard Padmé whisper in her head. _Some things are better left unsaid._

You can do this.

"Sabyne?" The little girl's eyes reflected depths of concern as she shook Sabé's shoulder. 

Sabé managed a faint smile and reached out to her. "It was the climb. That is all. The air was different where I came from." 

"Was?"

_Kriffin' gundarks!_ Nothing got past this child. She was so like her mother it hurt. Padmé had a few more tricks, though. _We need a diversion_, Padmé's voice whispered in her mind.

Sabé was inclined to agree. A startling urge nudged her into action, and an instant later Leia was squirming in her arms. As she tickled Leia, the child wiggled like a Yando worm, screeching and protesting amid a fit of giggles.

"S-stop. Stop. Stopstop stop!" 

Acquiescing, Sabé pulled her hands back. Leia flopped helplessly into her lap. The child alternated between wheezing to catch her breath and laughing at phantom sensations from their game. In that precious time, Sabé gathered her wits and began to ponder what had just happened.

Was the name _Finest Valley_ simply a chance choice in a million? A coincidence? Or did some part of Padmé speak to Leia like an inner voice?

Was it that blasted Force?

_"Is she…going to be like her father?" Sabé asked him._

"Do you mean a Jedi?"

"Yes."

"She has the gift -"

"It's not a gift, you arrogant fool. It's a curse!"

Sabé sensed tremors rising from her core, and fought them with her durasteel will. Going to that place, where rage and hate scratched at her soul, would serve no end. If Leia was beginning to exhibit the signs of Force sensitivity, Sabé would do her duty and inform Bail. It didn't change anything. How could she blame a child for the sins of a father or the fools who engineered his madness?

She would love and protect Leia to the bitter end. Whenever that might come…

"You're angry," Leia said softly.

Blinking, Sabé returned to the moment. "Not at you."

"You're not?" 

"Why would I be?"

Leia lay still in her arms, not looking away, not fearing the repercussions…

Suddenly Sabé understood. "How did you know about this place?" 

"I found it the day Wuickly ran away," the child answered hesitantly.

"Oh." It was all Sabé could manage. She remembered that fateful afternoon. For one minute Sabé had left her charge unattended – a mere minute's lapse – and Leia had gone missing. In the hours she had scaled these mountains searching for the lost girl, Sabé had inflicted so much more chastisement upon herself than Bail had upon learning the news. Leia was her duty; Bail would have been well within his rights to tie Sabé to the nose of the next launch and jettison her into space for her failings.

By the grace of the water gods, they had found Leia and her scruffy wuicka not far from this very spot. Safe and sound.

"I won't ever run away again, Sabie," Leia whispered. "I pr–"

Placing her fingers across the girl's tiny lips, Sabé said, "Don't make promises you can't keep, Leia. They always lead to heartache." 

Leia shifted her small head so she was free to speak. "I'll try."

Sabé smiled fondly, remembering the end of that awful search. She had slumped to her knees and taken Leia into her arms. The child had cried in relief at being found; Sabé had cried because she hadn't broken her promise to Padmé. In the end, it was Leia who had been the comforter, and the child had never stopped trying to apologize for the pain she had caused her friend and protector. "I know you will."

Surveying the meadow once more, Sabé decided she didn't need to know how Leia had come to this place. It was knowledge enough that Naboo would live on, in places like this, in herself and Leia. Imprinting in her mind the image awash with greens, blues and whites, she sighed. "It's time to go, little one."

"Oh-kay." But Leia stayed as she was, resting in Sabé's lap.

She gave the child a gentle shove. "In the next eon would be helpful." 

"I'm going as fast as I can," Leia griped, rising and brushing herself off.

Sabé chuckled. Padmé had been the same way. If the day's prospect was unappealing, it had taken a whole cadre of handmaidens to get her out the door. "Don't you mean, as slow as you can?"

Leia crossed her arms and stomped over the rise, back the way they had come. Sabé whistled to Wuickly, then followed. After the initial challenging descent to the main path, they fell into an amicable silence, each taking note of flora or fauna along the way but not intruding on the other's thoughts. The wuicka was the only one with something to say, barking and haruffing at whatever caught his eye along the trail. 

Eventually Leia reached over and snaked her fingers into the handmaiden's. Something troubled the child, but Sabé knew enough to wait for the explanation. Not until they were within eyesight of the Organa's summer estate, nestled with the cliffs of the Hiku mountain range, did she offer one.

"They're going to throw a surprise party when we get back, aren't they?" 

Sabé paused, tugging Leia to a halt with her. What was she to say? This child saw everything, even what was hidden. While the skill would serve her well in life, especially if she followed in Padmé's footsteps, it made it all but impossible to fabricate a believable illusion. Weeks of delicate planning by the palace staff for naught. Leia had known all along.

"Yes, they are," she answered. "And everyone has worked extra hard, especially your mother. It would be a shame for them to meet with disappointment –"

"I'll act surprised," Leia insisted.

"I know you will." Sabé stroked her porcelain cheek, still soft like baby skin. So young, yet so grown up. Sabé smiled. "Look on the bright side, at least you'll be having a party." 

Leia tried to return the sentiment, but her mouth remained a thin semblance of a smile. "Yes, a party."

"Don't you want a party?"

"No. Well, yes. But…" Leia sighed. "I do. But not one of Mama's parties. She'll invite important people. I'll have to say polite things to each one of them. Then we'll have to sit and eat fancy food and smile for the endless toasts when I can't even taste the wine. And when that is done, I'll have to open a million presents that I can't ever play with." Leia ended with a resigned huff.

It was all true. Nothing Sabé could say would change the fact that in five minutes Leia would be immersed in exactly what she didn't want. "I'm sorry. It's not the kind of life day you were hoping for." 

Leia blew her bangs. "I know Mama is trying, but she doesn't understand me like you do. Can't you just explain to her that all I want is a party with a couple of my friends with real presents and a real surprise?"

Sabé's shoulders drew up. The last thing she needed to do was give Brehu advice about Leia. One attempt was enough; only Bail's firm stance had kept his wife from sending Sabé packing after that particular incident. Even though she was opinionated, Sabé knew there was a time and place to make a stand. Sending Leia's mother into high orbit was a sure path to losing the one thing that meant anything in Sabé's life. For her charge's long term safety, she couldn't risk speaking out. Not now, not about this. Someday, perhaps, Leia would understand why.

At a loss, Sabé allowed the tiny pendant that always twined around her wrist to slip down. Fingering the cool surface, she felt for the familiar grooves that provided solace when nothing else could. _Padmé, what should I do?_

_When all else fails, smile,_ Padmé whispered from the netherworld. So Sabé did. She continued to rub the smooth curves, picturing the carved japor resting on her queen's - her best friend's - collarbone. Few were lucky to ever see Padmé in that casual a setting. If they had, they would have known the truth of the woman inside. That simple necklace, an expression of love from a boy to a girl, had kept Padmé going through the darkest hours of the Republic, when it would have been easier to fold to the pressure of oppression.

Often Sabé wondered if she should have left it in Padmé's hands in the crypt, a final token of a love lost. Yet something had driven her to return on the night after the funeral, something had urged her to take it. Not even the Jedi had tried to stop her when they had happened upon each other.

_"Take it," he said from under his dark cowl. "She would want you to have it. For the future."_

In this moment Sabé understood why. Kneeling down, she unwound the necklace from the place on her wrist where it had stayed since that fateful night. "I want you to have something." 

"A present?" Leia asked hesitantly.

"A surprise."

"A surprise?"

Sabé hesitated. "It has to be our secret, though. No one else can know."

Leia nodded her head decisively. "I can keep a secret."

Sabé knew she could; one more way she would carry on Padmé's legacy – faithful to the last. Even at her sixth life day, Leia had an amazing propensity to comprehend the concept of honor. "Close your eyes."

The little brown eyes had disappeared behind their lids before she finished. 

"Do you remember the tale of the princess who gave up everything to save her people?" Sabé asked while draping the familiar worn cord over the child's head.

"Yes," Leia whispered.

"Well this belonged to that very princess." Sabé knelt back on her heels. Wetness came to her eyes at the sight of Padmé's japor snippet hanging from Leia's neck. _For the future._ Perhaps the crazy wizard had been right about something after all. Batting away a tear, she said, "You can open your eyes now."

TKL/dl


	3. Annealed

**Leia – Age 7**

Annealed

_Water engulfed her._

Lungs burned with the desire for air. Her limbs shivered from the liquid's chill. Amid the cruel juxtaposition swirling blues tinged her vision. It hurt to exist, let alone endure.

For the briefest of moments, her head shot above the foaming cacophony. Time enough to start a breath, not enough to finish. Sucked back down into the noiseless churn she choked on a lungful of water. Her body began to seize in panic, yet her mind fell eerily calm. She did not fear death.

In the instant of serene acceptance, a powerful force overcame her, surrounded her in a warm layer of assurance. Her face erupted from the surface of her tomb.

"You're safe. I've got you," a smooth voice said in her ear.

She wanted to yell at him. Safe! We're in the middle of River Theed, heading towards the falls! _But all her haggard body could muster was sputtering hacks._

"Can you swim?"

They seemed to be moving toward the bank. Yes, toward the bank. She could make out the growing orbs of the lights that lined Theed's riverwalk balustrade. Spurred on by renewed hope, her arms tugged and her legs kicked.

She kicked and stroked, then kicked some more, the other's grip holding her securely the whole time.

"That's it," he encouraged after a ceaseless struggle.

"How…much fur-ther?" she gasped when their progress became intangible. 

"Ever closer," he replied, and tried to offer a faint smile.

"Can't your Force just save you?" Really she meant us. Can't it save us? _It was a modicum of optimism, but it was all she had._

He had no answer; he just cast his blue eyes back toward the island, toward the crypt and the awful truth.

The truth. Her mind still grappled with it all. Padmé was gone; her beauty snuffed out forever. The bank was getting no closer; in fact she was sure the current was pulling them faster toward the falls. She was caught in the embrace of a Jedi of all things, a Jedi who couldn't use the Force for fear that the monster they fled would find them out.

This was surely hell.

She wanted to scream for the madness of it all. She was_ screaming for the madness of it all. Her voice shrieked in her ears. Her hands slapped the water sucking away her life. Her feet kicked off her savior._

Then suddenly she was being tugged down. Into the water. No more screams. Just weight. Cold. Dark. Nothingness… 

Save fingers pinching her shoulder in a desperate hold. 

"Sabyne," the voice rumbled through the watery grave. "Sabyne." More insistent this time.

"Sabé!" 

A whispered shout jolted her back to reality. She blinked in the darkness, searching for the one who knew her real name. Framed against the moonlight, she recognized Bail's grim features. Her eyes darted to the window streaked with raindrops. Lightning sizzled in the night sky, flashing illumination into the room, and the heavens grumbled ominously – a thunderstorm. Of course, the dreams always came with the rain.

As had many other terrible events of her life.

Sabé shot from the bed, her feet slipping instinctively into the leggings placed at the ready on the floor. "What is it?" she asked as she shimmied them over her hips. 

"He's here." Bail spoke softly, but the words boomed like hammerdrops in her ears. "On planet. He just arrived unannounced –"

"Who?" she interrupted, her fingers deftly lacing her boots. She had to be sure.

"Vader." The name exploded inside her mind like a planet shattered with an immeasurable force.

Her body wanted to wilt in fear, but Sabé harnessed decades of training and fueled it with years of unadulterated hate. That monster had crushed the life out of her friend. It would be a disservice to Padmé's memory to let that knowledge paralyze her in a moment of reckoning. Armed with duty she crossed the room, sweeping off her nightshirt as she went.

"What does he want?" she asked, her back to him as she grabbed a dark shirt off the top of the bureau.

"No one knows." Bail was studying his feet when Sabé faced him. "If he comes to the palace…"

"Oh, he's coming to the palace," she said, strapping on her weapons belt.

"Do you think he can sense her?"

"I don't know." 

Drawing up to his full height, Bail paced the distance to stand before her. "I need you to be honest. Is she showing signs?"

"Yes." There was no time to hedge, only the truth.

"What did Kenobi instruct you about this?"

Her face was lowered, her eyes inspecting the charge on her blaster, or Bail would have seen the grimace at the mention of that time. Often she regretted having confessed to Bail those harrowing days she and Obi-Wan had shared on Naboo. Deep down, though, she knew there had been no way around it. Not for Leia's sake.

Meeting Bail's dark gaze, she remembered what Obi-Wan had told her. "Run."

He regarded her for a long moment, then spurred into action, ushering her to the door of Leia's suite. "So be it." He placed a small bag of credits in her hand. "Take her."

She pocketed the currency in her belt pouch, then tightened the vibroblade holster on her forearm. "And you?"

"I will stay here. I must." 

Sabé sheathed the blade and brushed down her sleeve to conceal it. "And Brehu?"

Rocking from foot to foot, Bail glanced to his wristchrono. "She is still in the infirmary. Her condition is guarded, but improving."

"So she's conscious."

"Yes."

"You must sedate her," Sabé ordered.

Bail's jaw drew back sharply. "She is my _wife_."

"She will be your daughter's undoing if you aren't careful." With that Sabé turned to the door controls and punched in the entry code. Ultimately, she trusted Bail would do the right thing. There was no further need to argue the matter. The controls chimed in acknowledgement, and the door swept open.

"Illumination three-quarters," she said, sweeping into the room.

Sabé had designed the child's quarters like the Queen's on Naboo. There was only one way in – through the external handmaiden's quarters. While Sabe's room was sparse, the princess' chamber was spacious and grand in its appointments. Curled in the middle of the enormous circular bed at the center of the room, Leia slumbered peacefully in the knowledge she was completely safe from harm.

With his longer stride, Bail reached the bed first. He leaned over and shook the child awake. "Leia."

Weekly drilling since age five had taught the little girl to snap quickly from sound asleep to fully awake. Even so, Bail stepped back with a start at her sudden scramble to the bed's edge. As Sabé quietly slipped to Leia's side, the child's clothes in hand, he eyed the handmaiden with a look of bolstered respect.

"What is it this time?" Leia yawned, holding up her arms so Sabé could slip on her shirt. "Pirates in the space lanes? Rebels at the gates?"

"This time it is not a drill," Sabé answered when Leia's head had emerged from her shirt.

The child's brown eyes shot round. She glanced to her father, then back to her protector. Her lips drew into a thin line, and she nodded resolutely. "I understand."

Bail lowered to one knee, taking his daughter by the shoulder. "Listen to Sabyne and everything will be right, child."

"You're not coming, Papa?" 

"Don't worry for me," he said with a false smile. "Only yourself."

Squaring her shoulders, Leia tipped her head. Bail swept his courageous daughter into a crushing embrace. A flash of fear crossed his eyes as he kissed the tussle of her brown hair. It was gone just as quickly, and he pushed her away. 

"I love you, Papa," Leia said, taking Sabé's hand. "I promise to be brave."

"I know you will be," he said, standing once more. His comlink chirped, and a hard mask crossed his features. He turned his back and retreated toward the door. "I love you, too."

The door sealed shut, leaving Sabé alone with her charge. For the span of several trembling heartbeats, they stood frozen. Sabé drew in a deep breath and reached for the calm center left by years of drill and experience. She had to be the strong one this time. There was no other handmaiden to fall back upon, no Dormé or Eirtaé. No Padmé, who had fought at their sides.

There was only Sabé and a child, Padmé's child.

Outside lurked the mutilated vestige of a father who had earned only the right of ignorance to his child's precious life.

"Finish dressing," she said in a sweeping exhale, then crossed the room to the lone window.

Sabé passed her fingers along the frame, feeling for the correct indentation. This she had designed, too. The window was inaccessible from the outside, protected above and below by various countermeasures. From inside it could only be opened by two signatures, the fingerprints of Bail or Sabé. She found the barely detectable dip where her finger fit and placed it there. An instant later, the window's locks released in a hiss. 

"I'm ready." Leia arrived at her side, a little breathless but composed. Her outfit was complete: dark clothes, sturdy play boots, and a lightweight jacket.

"Just like we practiced," Sabé reminded her as she lifted the lid to the window seat. The child nodded mutely as the handmaiden uncovered the secret compartment inside the seat. She had to lean into the enclosure, balancing the lid on her shoulders, to retrieve everything she needed. Arms burdened with a rope ladder, ascension gun, and two harnesses, Sabé realized she was stuck. "Leia, how about holding the seat?"

The weight remained, so Sabé stayed.

"Leia, hold the seat."

Still nothing.

"Leia," she growled.

At last a patter of feet announced the girl's arrival, and the weight lifted off Sabé's shoulders. "Sorry," the child said, looking duly admonished as Sabé emerged flushed from her exertion.

"From now on, you don't leave…" She hesitated, noting the familiar drape of Padme's japor snippet across Leia's neck. "…my side."

"I won't." 

"Keep that hidden," Sabé reminded her, eying the pendant.

As Leia tucked away the necklace, Sabé separated the equipment. She handed Leia her harness and then stepped into her own. It took only a few seconds to unfurl the ladder and attach it to the sill. When drops of cold rain buffeted her face and hands, Sabé remembered it was a stormy night, not the calm daytime in which they usually practiced these escapes.

Drawing Leia to her, she pulled up the tiny hood of her jacket and secured it snugly. "Keep dry."

Sabé snapped the two harnesses together, then climbed onto the window seat. She held out her hand and Leia joined her, peeking her head into the driving rain. Without any direction, the girl flung a leg over the sill. A second later, she had disappeared into night.

Peering down the ladder's path, Sabé judged Leia's descent and let out enough line between the two harnesses to not hinder the girl. Quicker than usual the familiar double tug told Sabé that Leia had reached the tiny ledge below, which for security reasons only emerged from the palace wall when the window locks were deactivated. Hand over hand Sabé retracted the ladder. She flung open the window seat, and tossed the ladder into its hidden compartment.

With the ascension gun in one hand, Sabé clambered out onto the sill. Staring up into the night rain, she had some difficulty visualizing the small outcropping a meter above the window, but hundreds of repetitions gave her a physical memory that allowed her to aim and hit her target anyway. Sabé gave the gun a firm tug to check the hold.

"I really do hate this part," she muttered as rain dripped down her nose. She sighed resolutely, pressed her finger back into the window lock, and swung free of the sill. As she dangled twenty meters above the palace grounds, the window sealed shut.

She triggered the ascension gun to lower her to the ledge below. At the same time, Sabé began to count in her head. _One, two, three…_

Her feet hit the smooth duracrete lip a couple seconds later. "Twenty five seconds, Leia." A gentle reminder that time was their precious ally, because at the end of the countdown, the ledges above and below would retract back flush with the exterior wall.

The girl sidled out of the way. Sabé dropped to a sitting position, facing the wall, and hooked her feet into a _decorative_ valance. In one smooth move she whipped backward and ended dangling upside down, her lower legs anchored to the ledge above. Reaching up, she took Leia's tiny hands with crossed arms. The girl locked her dark eyes on Sabé, the two nodded in unison, and after a deep exhale they executed a daring move with practiced skill.

Sabé rolled backward. Leia followed in a controlled dive. Sabé uncrossed her arms, spinning Leia. At the base of their arc, they released their hold on each other, and the girl landed in a crouch on the balcony below. As soon as Sabé was sure Leia was safe, she unhooked her feet from the valance. Swinging her torso up, then back, she flipped off the ledge. After a tight somersault through the air, she spotted her target and opened her legs for a landing worthy of a tuskcat. Overhead, she could hear the ledge begin to recede into the wall.

Leia hovered in the shadows, her harness already unhooked as she had been taught. Sabé discarded hers, then directed the girl onward. The dangerous descent over, the pair silently began their journey across the numerous balconies that lined the palace, slowly winding their way toward ground level. The route was tougher than usual, made slick by the rain and treacherous from the wind. They were both careful, and Leia had always been coordinated beyond her years. Somewhat winded but no worse for wear, they arrived at the most challenging part of their escape.

As part of its security, there was only one bridge into the palace proper. To stay hidden they couldn't travel across the upper deck in full view. Instead the pair would negotiate the narrow lip carefully concealed among the stone and brick composition of the bridge's façade. Even then, they would be somewhat exposed.

Afraid to call any undue notice their way, neither spoke as they crept out onto the tiny ledge that ran below the bridge's balustrade. Leia hunched slightly to avoid being seen. Sabé, on the other hand, had to keep her head down and move along in a crouch. To make up for what she couldn't see, she kept her ears attuned to the sounds above, buffering the roar of the river below into the back of her mind.

Halfway across the bridge, the unified clip of dozens of booted feet vibrated from overhead. Sabé increased her pace. Her hands stretched out to urge Leia forward and ended up bracing between their eventual collision. The sudden stop caused Sabé to lose her footing. Leia snatched her and pulled them both against the bridge's wet wall.

The girl said nothing, but Sabé could see the terror blazing in her eyes. Slowly, she straightened up and peered through the balustrade's opening. There was a wall of white armored legs as far as she could see. Her eyes scanned for an end and stopped abruptly at a pair of black boots. At that very instant, the procession of clonetroopers halted in formation.

Sabé scooted down and plastered her body to the slick stone wall. Her heart pounded so hard in her chest she couldn't even make out the patter of rain. She tried to keep any trace of fear off her face as she turned to Leia.

The little girl mouthed. "Vader." 

Sabé couldn't even nod to agree, or offer the child moral support. She raised a finger to remind Leia to be silent. Her heart had been racing, but it stopped cold when she heard the whir of forced respiration.

"Your orders, Lord Vader?" a clone asked from directly above them.

There was no response at first, just the buzz of air sucking in and blowing out the monster's lungs. A hand snatched Sabé's arm and she practically jumped out of her skin. It was Leia, trying to find some comfort for her frantic trembling. There was nothing her protector could do for her.

"My Lord?"

"I sense something…" The rumble of Vader's modulated voice sent chills down Sabé's spine. She imagined Leia's terror was worse than her own – above stood the dark stalker of childhood nightmares – yet the girl remained frozen in place. For once, Sabé wished for the Force, for a way to conceal their existence with simply a thought, but it wasn't to be. Instead, she had to pray to the gods of Naboo, Alderaan, and many more systems to save them from a tragic fate.

"Lord Vader, to what do I owe this unexpected visit?"

Who needed the Force when you had Bail Organa? Apparently he had come marching right out of the palace to meet the monster in their midst.

"Senator, it has been too long." Vader remained at his position by the balustrade.

"Please, you are a guest of Alderaan. Come inside out of the rain." There wasn't a hint of fear in Bail's voice.

"In a moment." They could hear Vader leaning on the balustrade, and both Sabé and Leia pressed as tight as humanly possible to the wall.

"I must insist, my Lord. There are many rebellious souls about. It is not safe out here."

"I agree, sir," a clonetrooper interjected. "It's not safe."

"Do you think I am afraid?" Vader roared over the growing onslaught of rain.

"Not at all," Bail replied smoothly. "It is more for my own safety, unfortunately. My loyal work for the Empire makes me a target."

"Very well." Vader's voice drifted away. "We do have matters to discuss." 

Heavy lumbering steps marked the monster's movement. Sabé didn't dare budge until the squads of troopers were well underway. She waited, balanced on the slim ledge over roaring waters, while rain soaked her to the bone. When she thought it was safe, she counted to ten.

Halfway in her pivot, Sabé found Leia desperately clutching the balusters. Her face plastered between two of them. Her eyes followed the Imperial contingent into the palace. Leia's body shook violently.

"Kill Papa. Kill Papa." The little girl said it over and over.

"Leia." Sabé touched her shoulder.

The girl didn't seem to notice. She simply repeated the two ominous words like she was trapped in a trance. Just when Sabé had decided a good slap might be necessary, Leia drew her gaze away from the closing palace gates and looked sightlessly into the distance. "He's going to kill Papa." 

Faster than the blink of an eye, Leia launched halfway up the balustrade. Sabé wasn't prepared. She snatched at a leg, snaring a bare ankle. Her fingers felt like they were touching fire, and released of their own accord.

"Alderaan will burn," Leia cried out, scrambling onto the balustrade.

Sabé gawked at her angry, throbbing fingertips. There was no time to wonder what was happening, though. She reached for a pant leg and called over the howling rainstorm, "Leia, stop!"

Leia kicked her off. "Save them."

Sabé watched in horror as Leia lost her grip on the wet rail. Sabé swiped, grasping for any part of her, an arm or piece of jacket, anything. Her fingers met with air, nothing more.

She couldn't even scream out as Leia met her gaze, dark eyes widened with fear of impending doom. She could only watch Padmé's daughter fall into the raging river below. A tiny splash, then nothing, as Sabé's living nightmare engulfed Leia and pulled her under.

After the initial shock, her instincts took over. There wasn't even a question whether Sabé would follow her ward into the cold, dark hell. Her boots were off, her jacket shed. She crossed her arms over her chest and stepped off the ledge. As she fell she grabbed hold of her nose, then braced. Not even old memories could prepare her for the freezing crush of melted mountain water swallowing her alive. Her body wanted to gasp, but she staved off the primal urge. Determination was a powerful ally.

Leia needed her.

Kicking for the surface, Sabé wondered if she would ever breathe air again. Then suddenly her head erupted from the water. As the foaming swirl of waves pummeled her from every direction, Sabé sucked in a quick breath. This time there would be no Jedi to rescue her; she was the savior. She used every failing from the last time to her advantage.

Once she was secure in the reasonless rhythm of the water's dance, Sabé began to look around. She moved about in a mixture of treading water and swimming, always being pulled forward by the current. The stormy night shed little light on the rippling surface. With her dark hair and dark clothes, Leia might as well have been a tuskcat against forest flora. Still Sabé persisted.

Bob. Swim. Tread. Always eyes searching.

Again and again. Always finding nothing.

Nothing but a black ribbon of water.

Find Leia.

Or die trying.

Die failing.

Find her.

Little Leia.

Leia!

A glint of something lighter than the obsidian surface caught Sabé's gaze. An arm thrashed. Then a drenched head thrust out of the water. Leia was only a meter ahead.

Sabé called over the water's rage. Leia didn't hear her, though. The struggling child gulped for air and instead swallowed a heavy wave. In turn the wave swallowed her. The last Sabé saw of Leia was her small hand trying to take a final hold on the surface.

"No!" Sabé surged forward, keeping her eye on the spot ahead. Where she believed Leia had been sucked under she dove. It was impossible to see anything. She groped wildly, feeling for anything solid. 

When her lungs felt the stab of a thousand vibroblades she surfaced. One deep breath and she plunged into the cold darkness. In less time than before, the demands of her punished body required her to rise for more air.

Sabé would have cried, but the heavens were already doing it for her. The one opponent from whom she had feared death was water. It was even more horrific to imagine Leia losing the same battle. Since returning without her charge was an impossibility, Sabé made the grim decision to fight the river until she could fight no more.

She chugged a gulp of air and returned to the battle. Her eyes open even though there was nothing to see. She went deeper than ever before. Down until her eardrums shrieked against the unrelenting weight pressing them inward.

_One more stroke_, she ordered her oxygen starved body. Like leaden weights her limbs complied, pulling…

Her hand smacked into something thin. A cord. Closing her fingers, she felt the familiar ridges of carved japor, the same ridges that had rested in her palm for the first years after Padmé's death. Pulling on the cord, Sabé was able to capture Leia in her arms.

Up she kicked with all her might, beating her legs in a frenzied pace, her hollow lungs telling them the direction. Eternity was the time it took to break out of their enemy's grasp.

Air howled into Sabé's lungs. Not so for Leia. She lay limp in her protector's arms, not even a tremor of life as Sabé struggled for the shore. Dead weight to be dragged onto the bank.

The handmaiden crashed to her knees, rocks digging into her freezing skin. Tenderly she placed Leia upon the wet soil. The blessed pendant rested against the girl's breastbone, seemingly as content as it had been in Padmé's hand in the crypt.

"You can't have her," Sabé whispered to the night.

Fully prepared to battle for the girl's life she almost missed the soft rise of the japor snippet. She was sure her eyes had not deceived her when Leia contorted, heaving water out of her lungs. Sabé rolled the child on her side and soothed her damp hair as her body tried to recover. Slowly regular breath returned and swiftly converted to ragged sobs.

Gently, Sabé took Leia into her arms. "You're safe now. I've got you."


End file.
